Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders - May 8, 2021

[margaret thatcher]

Not sure if that was doctored, I have to see the whole thing and put it in to perspective.

it wasnt doctored and what is the context you need lol, the kid just went up to him and sacked him

after the fight bjs even got his kid in the ring to apologize for it





btw saunders seems to have a weird fetish for his kids doing ball punching, aside from that incident, he also got his kid to go up to some music store employee and nut them too, and he filmed it. then he laughed like a giggidy school girl when the kid did.

[Evander]

That's reassuring.

Saw it though, looks legit.

[Evander]

Can he out muscle Canelo [Does he look bigger] based on size alone ?

[The Gratest]

Can he out muscle Canelo [Does he look bigger] based on size alone ?

He's only 12 years old. Granted, he might have had a bit of a growth spurt since the Willie Monroe jr willie incident, but it's hard to see that happening.

[Cent0089]

will there be at least somewhat decent undercard fights? Looked at UFC 259 and undercard was sooo stacked in comparsion to those in pro boxing

[Ruthless-RKO]

Warre.n: I've Got More Faith in Saunders Beating Canelo Than His Own Promoter

Promoter Frank W believes WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders is more than capable of shocking Canelo Alvarez, who holds the WBC, WBA world titles.

The two champions will collide on May 8th in a three belt unification.

Canelo is a tremendous favorite to win the fight - with only three outings at the super middleweight limit.

He blasted out Rocky Fielding in 2018, dominated Callum Smith to capture the WBC, WBA titles in December 2020, and then last month he crushed mandatory challenger Avni Yildirim in three rounds.

Warren had promoted Saunders for the bulk of his career.

A few years ago, the two parted ways with Saunders signing a promotional agreement with Eddie Hearn of Matchroom.

Despite their breakup, Warren views Saunders as having the necessary tools in his arsenal to get the upset victory.

"If anyone can beat Canelo Alvarez then, for me, it is Billy Joe Saunders. And it seems like I've got more faith in Saunders pulling off an upset than his own promoter. Eddie Hearn said he is already talking to IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant's team about an undisputed clash with Alvarez," Warren told The Daily Star.

"If I was Saunders, I wouldn't want my promoter coming out and saying that. The Brit is preparing to put his WBO title on the line against the pound-for-pound star and current WBA and WBC champion on May 8. Of course, I worked with Saunders for most of his professional career so I know as well as anyone what he is capable of.

"Saunders at his best can beat anyone in the division and Alvarez is no different. But my fear is how comfortable the Mexican is now at the weight. Alvarez has already gone up to light heavyweight and handled a huge fighter like Sergey Kovalev. Now he is back down at [168], he is very, very good at that weight. Saunders has moved up from middleweight to become a two-weight world champion.

"The question will be is he strong enough to keep Alvarez off of him for 12 rounds? Saunders also has not been as active as I would like, he needs to be in the ring regularly to show his best. But he has the skills to do this. Saunders at his best is brilliant, he has a superb boxing brain and he can out-think any fighter."

[Ruthless-RKO]

Canelo vs. Saunders heading to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, hints Hearn

Eddie Hearn is hinting that the May 8th unification fight between 168-lb champions Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders is heading to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, for this DAZN clash.

Hearn says the Canelo vs. Saunders bout will be “very close” to where last weekend’s match between Juan Francisco Estrada vs. Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez took place staged in Dallas, Texas.

It’s still not official that Canelo – Saunders will be taking place in Texas; Hearn talking about wanting to stage the fight in that state is a dead giveaway. It doesn’t make sense to take Canelo to Florida again because his fan base is Texas, California, and Nevada.

While it may not seem like a big deal to the average casual boxing fan for the Canelo-Saunders fight to be staged in Texas, it does mean quite many hardcore fans that follow the recent news.

Last Saturday, WBC super flyweight champion Chocolatito Gonzalez found himself on the receiving end of a controversial 12 round split decision in his rematch against WBA champ El Gallo Estrada in Dallas, Texas. Many fans felt that Chocolatito should have won that fight by at least 2 to 4 rounds.

Interestingly, one of the judges gave Estrada a wide 9 rounds to 3 victories with his 117-111 scoring for the fight, which was an absurd score.

On Sunday, it was learned that the World Boxing Association had given the judge a temporary suspension, but that’s not going to change the fight results.

Estrada still has a controversial win over Chocolatito, and that victory is all that counts. For fans in the dark about this, Estrada is promoted by Hearn, who also promotes Canelo.

As a result, for Hearn to bringing the Canelo vs. Saunders fight to Texas, it’s hard not to see this as potentially bad for Billy Joe in terms of his chances of winning a decision.

It wouldn’t be a big deal if Saunders had some pop in his punches because then he could take the judges out of the equation, but he has very little power.

With his anemic 46.67% KO rate, Saunders is strictly a finesse fighter who looks to win decisions by out-boxing his opponents. If Saunders can’t count on winning a decision against Canelo in Texas, what’s the point of going there?

“I must have said it under my mask! I think I had a mask on,” Hearn said to Fighthub about the location for the Canelo-Saunders bout. “It’ll be here in America.”

With the pandemic making it impossible to stage boxing events in front of fans in the UK and most areas in the U.S, Texas has become a popular destination to stage fights because they’ve been lenient about having large crowds attend events. As a result, we’ve seen these fights staged in Texas during the pandemic:

• Errol Spence vs. Danny Garcia – AT&T Stadium

• Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis vs. Leo Santa Cruz – Alamodome in San Antonio

• Canelo Alvarez vs. Callum Smth – Alamodome

• Ryan Garcia vs. Luke Campbell – American Airlines Center, Dallas

• Juan Francisco Estrada vs. Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez 2 – American Airlines Center, Dallas

Hearn has talked about wanting to stage the Canelo vs. Saunders fight in Las Vegas and Miami, but it looks like he’s got his sights set on staging it in Texas.

If it does take place in Texas, as we can hope for is the scoring for the fight; if it goes to a decision, it makes sense.

Canelo already has a black eye for his opponent’s choice for his last fight in selecting Avni Yildirim to defend his WBA/WBC 168-lb titles against instead of facing David Benavidez, Caleb Plant, Jermall Charlo, or Gennadiy Golovkin.

The casual fans who say that Canelo was FORCED to defend against Yildirim because he was his mandatory with the WBC were wrong. Canelo wasn’t forced to face Yildirim. He wanted to fight him. As the WBC Franchise champion, Canelo can bypass mandatory challengers indefinitely.

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said recently that Canelo didn’t have to fight Yildirim because his Franchise would have allowed him not to take that fight, but he wanted to face him.

[adislav123]

so he really didn't have to fight the turk as mandatory.

i'm not up to date on the discussion and can't remember who, but wasn't somebody insisting over & over & over and over again otherwise?

[Ruthless-RKO]

so he really didn't have to fight the turk as mandatory.

i'm not up to date on the discussion and can't remember who, but wasn't somebody insisting over & over & over and over again otherwise?

BoxingNews24 are some of the worst and biased reporters to be honest.

I always thought he was ONLY Franchise at 160? You have to earn franchise status in a division by being a multiple belt holder..

TBH, I don’t think the WBC know either. They’re just winging it day by day..

[Enlightened-One]

BoxingNews24 are some of the worst and biased reporters to be honest.

Anyone can create an article for BoxingNews24.

A lot of the contributors are merely mainstream casuals plagiarising quotes from legitimate journalists/websites and then putting their own biased spin on things.

[Ruthless-RKO]

BoxingNews24 are some of the worst and biased reporters to be honest.

Anyone can create an article for BoxingNews24.

A lot of the contributors are merely mainstream casuals plagiarising quotes from legitimate journalists/websites and then putting their own biased spin on things.

Yeh. Worst lot. I don’t know why I bother..

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Enlightened-One]

Canelo vs. Saunders heading to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, hints Hearn

The casual fans who say that Canelo was FORCED to defend against Yildirim because he was his mandatory with the WBC were wrong. Canelo wasn’t forced to face Yildirim. He wanted to fight him. As the WBC Franchise champion, Canelo can bypass mandatory challengers indefinitely.

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said recently that Canelo didn’t have to fight Yildirim because his Franchise would have allowed him not to take that fight, but he wanted to face him.

Just to clarify the fictional claims made by the uneducated author of this article…

Avni Yildirim was the WBC’s mandatory challenger before Canelo faced Kovalev. In fact, the WBC had agreed to grant the Turkish fighter a second shot at the 168lbs title before Canelo fought Daniel Jacobs.

During the summer of 2020, before they’d agreed to face each other, the handlers of both Canelo and Callum Smith separately lobbied the WBC to challenge for their vacant 168lbs title, since both men harboured ambitions to unify the super-middleweight division.

So both fighters requested permission to face Avni Yildrim for the vacant WBC super-middleweight title.

However, the Turkish mandatory challenger agreed to step-aside, to facilitate the commercially bigger Canelo-Smith bout (for the vacant WBC super-middleweight title), with the winner compelled to face him within 90 days.

The WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman even applauded Avni Yildrim’s willingness for his “exemplary collaboration”.

And when Canelo claimed the vacant WBC super-middleweight title after defeating Callum Smith, the Mexican was automatically obliged to face Avni Yildrim, within 90 days (Alvarez actually beat that deadline when he fought the Turkish fighter only 70 days after beating the Brit).

However, Mauricio Sulaiman subsequently apologised for the Canelo-Yildrim mismatch, because he said the WBC was obliged, according to their own rules, to provide their mandatory challengers a shot at their titles, so they had to order the fight to respect the rights of the “official” challenger.

On a separate note, Canelo also holds the WBC’s middleweight “franchise” belt, which is the title this author is ignorantly referring to. And this belt is completely irrelevant to the Mexican's 168lbs bout against Yildrim!

I hope the person that wrote that article isn't getting paid? And if so, perhaps I should turn my hobby into a second source of income.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Canelo-Saunders lands in Dallas; 60,000+ fans

Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders will clash in front of over 60,000 fans in a world super middleweight title unification blockbuster at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday May 8, live worldwide on DAZN. Pre-sales for the blockbuster fight will start on Tuesday March 23 with general sale beginning on Friday March 26 at SeatGeek.com.

Mexican superstar Canelo puts his WBC and WBA Super titles on the line at the home of the Dallas Cowboys on Cinco de Mayo weekend, as British favorite Saunders brings his WBO strap across the pond and looks to extend his unbeaten pro record against Canelo in front of the biggest sporting crowd for over a year in the US.

[Ruthless-RKO]

As expected, Canelo-Saunders is headed to the home of the Cowbos.

As has been expected for at least the last few days, it’s now official: Canelo Alvarez vs Billy Joe Saunders will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, May 8, with the fight streaming live on DAZN.

Canelo (55-1-2, 37 KOs) has fought at the home of the Dallas Cowboys once before, beating Liam Smith at the stadium in 2016.

“We are proud to host a boxing match of this magnitude as we welcome back Canelo Alvarez to AT&T Stadium to take on Billy Joe Saunders,” said Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. “AT&T Stadium was built to house the greatest sporting events on the planet, and we feel we have another incredible boxing event on the horizon with this matchup taking place in Arlington.”

Capacity will be increased for the event, so there won’t be 15-20,000 people for this fight, as we’ve seen at other stadium events in recent months. They’re advertising “over 60,000 fans” for the event.

“It’s an absolute honor to bring this huge event to the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on May 8,” said Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn. “Last year Canelo missed out on his historic Cinco de Mayo fight, and to bring over 60,000 fans together at this iconic stadium this year is a dream come true.”

Texas has increasingly become a strong presence in major boxing during the COVID-19 pandemic; however you feel about the state’s more relaxed rules about gatherings, it’s happening. This fight follows Davis-Santa Cruz, Spence-Garcia, Canelo-Smith, Garcia-Campbell, and Estrada-Chocolatito 2 as big fights to be held in Texas since last October, because fans have been permitted to attend, albeit not at full capacity.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

OVER 20K CANELO-SAUNDERS PRE-SALE TICKETS SOLD ON DAY ONE

Over 20,000 tickets were sold on a record-breaking day one of the limited pre-sale for the blockbuster unification showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders on Saturday May 8 at AT&T stadium in Arlington, TX, live worldwide on DAZN.

TICKETS REMAIN ON PRE-SALE UNTIL 10PM CT ON WEDNESDAY MARCH 24 AT SEATGEEK.COM – PRE-SALE CODE ‘MATCHROOM’

Canelo fights at the home of the Dallas Cowboys for the second time in his career and returns to his traditional Cinco De Mayo weekend date after COVID robbed him of that in 2020.

The Mexican superstar is aiming to take a massive step to becoming the first 168lb undisputed champion from his homeland and the stakes couldn’t be higher, as if he hands Saunders a first career defeat and takes his WBO crown, just one piece of the puzzle will remain.

Saunders, who will be completing his training camp in Las Vegas, will be looking to stop the rot for British fighters facing Canelo and grab the biggest win of his career to date against the 30 year old – it’s an occasion that has already captured the attention of fight fans, and promoter Eddie Hearn believes we’re heading for something special on May 8.

“Today we have seen record breaking numbers for what promises to be a huge celebration on Cinco De Mayo weekend,” said Hearn. “Canelo fighting on Cinco De Mayo has become a staple of the boxing calendar, and I am honored to be promoting this captivating fight at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.

“With one more day of pre-sale to go before the tickets go on general sale on Thursday morning, I am confident that we’re going to have a full house in the Lone Star state for one of the most important fights of 2021.”

Tickets starting from just $40 (plus fees) remain on pre-sale until 10pm CT on Thursday March 25, and tickets then go on general sale at 10am CT on Friday March 26 at SeatGeek.com.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Jessie Vargas Aims To Shine on Canelo-Saunders, Then Go After 154 Title

The last time former junior welterweight and welterweight world titlist Jessie Vargas was in the ring was in the main event of one of the final cards before the coronavirus pandemic shut boxing down for several months.

On Feb. 29, 2020, he faced four-division world titlist Mikey Garcia at the Ford Center – the training facility of the Dallas Cowboys -- in Frisco, Texas. Garcia knocked him down in the fifth round and won a competitive unanimous decision in an entertaining bout.

Garcia will return not too far from that defeat looking to put it behind him and in a new division.

He told Boxing Scene on Wednesday night that he will box on Canelo Alvarez-Billy Joe Saunders card on May 8 (DAZN) at AT&T Stadium – home of the Cowboys – in Arlington, Texas.

“We hope to line up as the co-main event. I think we have the recognition and the respect from the fans that we deserve a spot as the co-main event, but at the end of the day that’s up to my promoter (Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing) and what he sees as best,” Vargas told BS.com.

Vargas said he does not yet have an opponent locked in nor is the weight set but he plans on moving up to junior middleweight and soon after to middleweight.

“I’m not even certain if it will be 154, 155 or 156 pounds,” Vargas said. “That’s pending because things are just being set up with Eddie and my advisers (Guadalupe Valencia and Al Haymon). Eddie Hearn has taken care of me. He’s given me several opportunities and I appreciate it. I’ve been working with my team for years now and I just want to show them that I’ve elevated to another level this last year.”

Vargas said he attended Alvarez’s third-round knockout victory over Avni Yildirim on Feb. 27 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, where he worked as a commentator on DAZN’s Spanish-language broadcast team but also met during the week with Hearn to discuss the plans for his next fight and he was happy when offered a spot on the Alvarez-Saunders card.

He said it is time for him to move up in weight for good. Vargas (29-3-2, 11 KOs), 31, of Las Vegas, has been a pro since 2008 and has fought his entire career at junior welterweight and welterweight except for when he was 150 pounds for a sixth-round knockout of former world titlist Humberto Soto in April 2019.

Vargas planned for that to be his way of easing into the 154-pound junior middleweight division but when he was offered the fight against Garcia it was too good to refuse.

“I was successful and felt great (against Soto) but got the opportunity to go back down to 147 for a major, major fight,” Vargas said. “It was the biggest fight I had in front of me on paper at that time so we said, alright, we’ll go back down for one last fight at 147 and we did that. Everyone knows the result. It was a great fight that people loved. I felt comfortable at 154 but, honestly, it’s not that easy to make either.

“I can make it because I’m very dedicated to what I do. But you have to learn when to listen to your body and know when it’s reacting well and at the optimal level. During this pandemic I actually spoke to a few doctors during a Zoom meeting with the WBC and they informed me on several aspects, like how athletes need to have a certain amount of body fat. They gave me very valuable information.”

So, now it’s onward and upward in terms of the weight, Vargas said.

“I fought at 141 in the amateurs when I was 14 years old,” Vargas said, noting that he had already fought several welterweight bouts before dropping back down to junior welterweight to challenge Khabib Allakhverdiev for a world title in 2014. Vargas won the fight by decision and made two defenses before returning to welterweight, where he nearly knocked out Timothy Bradley Jr. in the final seconds but lost a decision in an interim title bout.

After that loss, Vargas upset Sadam Ali, knocking him out in the ninth round to win a welterweight world title in 2016, which he lost by decision in his first defense against Manny Pacquiao later that year.

Vargas is 2-1-2 since, including a disputed draw with Adrien Broner and a draw with Thomas Dulorme in an all-action fight, Vargas’ first after signing with Hearn when he was launching his series of fights on DAZN.

At junior middleweight and middleweight, Vargas said he has one goal.

“My goal is to become world champion once again,” said Vargas, who believes his 5-foot-11 frame will handle the weight without any issues. “At 154 it can be done. Yes, we know who has the titles right now (unified champion Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano) but those are fights I believe can be made. My team can make it happen if we pursue it.”

But first comes his return on Canelo’s show.

“I want to have a good performance on May 8 and after that I’ll look for a world title, whether it’s at 154 or 160,” Vargas said. “At 160 you have (Demetrius) Andrade, GGG (Gennadiy Golovkin); you have (Ryota) Murata and (Jermall) Charlo. Those are fights that can be made. I feel good in those divisions. I’m gonna show what I’m about at 154 and 160, that they are weights that are not too big for me.

“I’m putting everything in in this second stage of my career. I want to show everybody how much I’ve improved over this last year after my previous fight. I think my power is going to show in the new weights because nothing is holding me back. I’ll fight anyone. I’m not afraid of anyone in those divisions. I am positive and certain that come May 8 you’re gonna see a different Jessie Vargas. The power is going to be a big asset in this second part of my career. I think it will surprise a lot of people. I have much more left in me. This is going to be the best part of my career coming up.”

[Wales]

I think Saunders can take it. Canelo can be outboxed and struggles with fighters that move. Amir Khan arguably won every round against Canelo until he was knocked out. Jacobs also done very well.

I am taking Saunders sneaking a decision.. He has decent enough ring IQ to avoid trading shots and knows what he needs to do to get the win.

Saunders does not have the experience to beat Canelo.

I don’t think experience will be the defining factor in this fight.
BJS had a good amateur career with around 100 senior bouts. He won a commonwealth gold medal at 17 years old and represented Great Britain at the olympics at 18 years old.
As a pro he has won British, European and commonwealth titles. Has a record of 30 wins without loss and is a two weight world champion.

Canelo has MORE experience, but Billy has been boxing since day-dot. Experience won’t decide the outcome of this fight.

[margaret thatcher]

Agreed, Canelo simply being a superior fighter , possibly best p4p in the world, with all the tools to deal with bjs, will decide it

bjs aint at that level

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

Saunders looks great against one dimensional guys. Canelo is the best in the world

It will be 9 to 3 or 10 to 2

[margaret thatcher]

lol, oh sure, as if canelo is any more skilled than david lemieux

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

lol, oh sure, as if canelo is any more skilled than david lemieux

Well david was a top 10 rated ring mag mw......

[gregregegg]

Saunders looks great against one dimensional guys. Canelo is the best in the world

It will be 9 to 3 or 10 to 2

Winning 3 rounds vs p4p 1 is a great performance. I’m backing him in for 1 or 2 but hope he comes in light and mobile and gets it close enough to be robbed.

[TonyJ]

Should be Canelo by decision but a stoppage is possible late.